SLIDE 2 5/2/2017 2
PENNSYLVANIA RESOURCES TO SUPPORT KINSHIP CARE FAMILIES
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
BUILDING PUBLIC AWARENESS
FACT: ALMOST HALF OF THE SIX MILLION PLUS CHILDREN IN THE U.S. WHO ARE LIVING IN GRANDPARENT OR OTHER RELATIVE HEADED HOUSEHOLDS COME FROM EIGHT STATES. PENNSYLVANIA IS ONE OF THOSE STATES. ACTION: TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC AND SERVICE PROVIDERS ABOUT KINSHIP CAREGIVING ISSUES AND SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM APPROACHES:
PUBLIC TELEVISION STATION (WPSX) TO CREATE LIVE CALL- IN TELEVISION BROADCAST ON GRANDPARENT RAISING GRANDCHILDREN ISSUES.
CURRICULUM ENTITLED, GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN: DOUBLY STRESSED, TRIPLY BLESSED, DELIVERED BY EXTENSION EDUCATORS IN PENNSYLVANIA.
HELPING FAMILIES FIND RESOURCES
FACT: KINSHIP CAREGIVERS FACE PERSONAL, FINANCIAL, HEALTH, LEGAL, AND OTHER DIFFICULTIES WHEN STARTING TO RAISE A SECOND FAMILY. MANY KINSHIP CAREGIVERS ARE DESPERATELY LOOKING FOR FACTUAL INFORMATION TO HELP THEM NAVIGATE SUCH CHALLENGES. ACTION: ESTABLISH AN INTERACTIVE WEB SITE OF RESOURCES FOR KINSHIP CARE FAMILIES AND PROFESSIONALS WHO WORK WITH THEM.
DISSEMINATING INFORMATION
FACT: KINSHIP CAREGIVERS ARE CHALLENGED BY A LACK OF SUPPORT AND FRAGMENTED SERVICES FROM FAMILY AND COMMUNITY TO HELP THEM PROVIDE A STABLE, NURTURING ENVIRONMENT FOR THEIR CHILDREN. ACTION:
MULTI-AGENCY TASK FORCE GROUPS TO SHARE IDEAS AND NETWORK RESOURCES AMONG KINSHIP CARE PROVIDERS.
SERIES HIGHLIGHTING PROMISING PRACTICES AND SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM APPROACHES.
MOBILIZING ACTION
FACT: KINSHIP CAREGIVERS PARTICIPATING IN A FOCUS GROUP STUDY (CONDUCTED IN PITTSBURGH, PA) EXPRESSED THE NEED FOR RESPITE CARE AND STRUCTURED RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES THAT THEY COULD DO WITH THEIR GRANDCHILDREN. ACTION: WORK TOGETHER WITH LOCAL AGENCIES TO ESTABLISH A FAMILY CAREGIVER RETREAT FOR FAMILIES WITH GRANDPARENTS RAISING
RETREAT PROVIDES RESPITE FOR THE CAREGIVERS AND HELPS BUILD FAMILY STRENGTHS.
Kinship Care in Pennsylvania: Support for Families with Grandparents and Other Kin Raising Children
- OVERVIEW
- INTRODUCTION TO KINSHIP CARE
ISSUES
- KINSHIP CARE SUPPORT GROUPS
- INNOVATIVE PROGRAM IDEAS FOR
KINSHIP CAREGIVERS AND CHILDREN
- KINSHIP CARE AND LEGAL ISSUES
- RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER
ADULTS AND CHILDREN IN THE FAMILY
- KINSHIP CARE – GETTING HELP
- KINSHIP CARE RESOURCES
PENNSYLVANIA RESOURCE DATA BASE (Click on a county to find information in your area) Retreat participants make family banners and display them at the family brunch. Grandparents and children have fun connecting while catching fish at the lake.
http://aese.psu.edu/extension/intergenera tional/program-areas/kinship
Contact: Matt Kaplan at (814) 863-7871; msk15@psu.edu.
Support Groups
- What’s in a name? Some alternatives to “support group”
– “Chat and Chews” – “Coffee and Conversation” group – “Family fun night”
- Self help and networking:
– “experienced” families help those who are new to facing kinship care- related circumstances…
- Short presentations (mostly from partnering agencies) – on topics such as:
– Legal issues – Educational issues/teaching strategies – Family communication dynamics – Access to mental health services
- Incentives – e.g., potluck meals, gift cards, snacks, refreshments, prizes,
school supplies, etc.
“I thought I had the baddest kids in the world. When I got [to the support group] and heard
- ther grandparents speak, it was comforting
for me to know that there are some other bad ones. It helped me to deal with them.”
[Kinship care support group participant in Georgia, quoted in King et al., 2009, p. 233]
King, S., Kropf, N.P., Perkins, M., Sessley, L., Burt, C., & Lepore, M. (2009). Kinship care in rural Georgia communities: Responding to needs and challenges of grandparent
- caregivers. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 7 (2-3), 225-242.
